


Clear Up The Record

by LaLainaJ



Series: Make Some Noise [81]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Bad Pick-Up Lines, Co-workers, Coffee Shops, F/M, Flirting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-04
Updated: 2016-08-04
Packaged: 2018-08-07 09:42:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7710253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaLainaJ/pseuds/LaLainaJ
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Co-workers at a coffee shop Caroline and Klaus have invented a game to keep themselves occupied during lulls.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Clear Up The Record

**Clear Up The Record**

**(Prompts: kc + coffee shop/bakery au + hungry for more than pastries probs in the stock room ;););); + Coffee shop "I write a bad pick up line on your cup every time." Title from 'Coffee' by The Arkells. Rated T).**

" _Are you a girl scout? Because you tie my heart in knots."_

He watches carefully as the brunette reads what he'd written on her cup. Unfortunately, her nose wrinkles she tosses her hair back before she walks out with a huff. Throws a dirty look at him over her shoulder for good measure. Klaus supresses a sigh. He's never struck out quite so often. He hears Caroline giggle softly. He glances over at Caroline and watches her pinch her lips together in a feeble attempt to stifle her amusement. His own disgruntlement at his repeated failures vanishes. She looks happy. It's a far cry from how Caroline had been when she'd started her shift – tight lipped and preoccupied, shooting him occasional glances but avoiding direct eye contact. He'd been mystified at her distance and Klaus takes the favorable shift in her mood as a win.

She'd been up for playing the usual game, had relaxed as the night progressed. Understandable, given how much she liked winning.

The game had started, as those sorts of things always did, out of boredom. Well, boredom and a burning desire to get out of the less pleasant closing tasks. Before they'd implemented it he and Caroline typically relied on rock paper scissors to decide who was stuck with bathroom cleanup duty. He _could_ have foisted such duties off on her easily, since he _was_ technically her supervisor. But that would be rude, not to mention a sure fire way of killing any shot he had of getting Caroline to ever agree to see him outside of work.

The game's rules are simple. 1. A pickup line must be written on a customer's cup. 2. The customer must see and react to the line before they leave the cafe. 3. Points are only awarded if all parties agree the customer's reaction was favorable.

It was too busy during the day to play, the steady stream of cubicle dwellers looking for a caffeine fix and harried assistants picking up big orders of coffee, sandwiches and assorted pastries (the café's bread and butter) making the hours fly.

Evenings were another story. They dragged. Sometimes a person would come in with a laptop and plop themselves at a table and tap away for hours. They got to witness the occasional excruciatingly awkward first date (and the even more seldom date that went really, really well. Part of the reason neither of them were too keen on cleaning the bathrooms was that time they both heard some very suspicious thumping noises coming from the ladies room after a pair on a date had hit it off). The mirror had been covered in hand prints and Klaus hadn't looked too closely at the floor as he'd mopped.

Such excitement was rare. There would be long stretches of time where they had no customers at all.

Those evenings might be Klaus' favorite, if he was being honest. He'd been leery the first time he and Caroline were scheduled to close together, afraid that the bubbly warmth that made Caroline a hit with customers would be cloying during quiet times. He'd been pleasantly surprised to find that there was much more to her. She was sharp and witty, amused him with her wild theorizing about the lives of people who walked by. The hours had passed quickly and he'd almost been sorry to say goodnight. Driving home that evening Klaus had found himself eagerly looking forward to working with Caroline again.

A feeling that had only grown and _might_ have led to Klaus arranging things so they closed together as often as he could manage.

Caroline waits until the offended customer leaves and leans against the counter. She crosses her arms and adopts an exaggeratedly concerned tone, "You are so not having a good night, Klaus. Even your one pointers aren't flying. Maybe the accent's lost its charm?"

He rolls his eyes, tucking his Sharpie back into his apron, "Doubtful, love. I've lived here for six years. You'd think it had happened long ago. Is there something on my face? In my teeth, maybe? You'd tell me, wouldn't you? If only to keep things sporting."

Her brows rise, and she lifts a shoulder in a gesture that's probably supposed to read apologetic, "Um, no. I like to win. Not opposed to playing dirty. At all."

Klaus should have guessed.

It's a half hour until close and Caroline's got nine points to his three. She'd played a couple of two pointers (they had a scale – one point for cute, innocuous pickup lines, two for any that bordered on cheesy or suggestive and three for the filthy ones that could very well get them written up) which was unusual for her. The fact that she hadn't immediately tossed the business card a dark haired guy had slid her, after he'd read the line she'd scribbled on his cup an hour ago, was also out of character. Caroline had even smiled coyly and flirted back for a moment. Something Klaus had noted with great interest even as a twinge of jealousy burned hot.

It's not something she'd ever done before. And Klaus would know, having spent quite a bit of time studying her. Caroline's always been cool and polite with the men who hit on her at work, firmly told them that she wasn't single when they pressed. That her behavior has changed, even if only slightly, is intriguing to Klaus. His more gossipy coworkers have been whispering for weeks that Caroline's relationship was on the rocks and he'd walked in on a frosty cell phone conversation or two in the breakroom during the same time period.

He's been itching to know more but hasn't been able to work out a subtle way. He'd never bothered to learn the man's name (Steven? Stewart? Something like that) so casually asking how he was doing was out of the question. Klaus had only met the boyfriend in passing twice. First when he'd come to pick Caroline up (and hadn't even bothered to hold the door for her, despite the fact that she was juggling coffee, a takeout box and her school things) and then a second time when he'd come out to a pub with them for their boss' birthday. The boyfriend had spent the whole night tucked into the corner of a booth, glued to his phone, offering curt, monosyllabic, answers whenever Caroline had attempted to include him in the conversation.

Those encounters had left Klaus assuming (hoping) that his tenure as Caroline's boyfriend would be short so his name wasn't all that important. She could obviously do leagues better.

Klaus makes a show of untying his apron, "I suppose I ought to concede defeat. In the interest of getting out of here at a reasonable time."

Caroline's head tips to the side and she studies him with interest, "Hot date?" she asks.

Klaus is nearly certain that there's more than casual interest in the question, a bit of a flirt coloring her tone. Fervently hopes it's not just wishful thinking on his part. He pauses, takes a step towards her. Caroline doesn't straighten from her slouch, not even when he's close enough that their legs brush. "Shouldn't I be asking you that, sweetheart? You're the one with a phone number in your apron. Won't your boyfriend be upset about that?"

Caroline's brows furrow and she meets his eyes steadily, "Nope. We broke up three weeks ago."

"I'm sorry," Klaus tells her and he holds back a wince at just how insincerely it had come out.

Luckily, Caroline isn't offended. "No you're not," she shoots back.

"I'm not," Klaus confirms. He sets a hand on the counter next to her hip, watches her carefully before planting the other on the opposite side. She doesn't seem to mind being caged in and he's certain he's not imagining the way her eyes dart down to his mouth. Well, wasn't that promising? More than enough to encourage Klaus to make a leap. "Would you like to join me for a drink after we finish up here, Caroline?"

She bites her lower lip in consideration, fighting a smile. "I would. Do you want to come to my place? Just for a drink. Because I'm covered in coffee stains and I didn't bring a change of clothes. You're totally going to have to work a little harder to get into my pants."

Klaus grins, lets himself crowd her just a bit more, their calves tangling together. He has a brief flash of boosting her onto the counter and stepping between her legs. She's wearing a dress and he'd do all manner of terrible things to get a peek at what's underneath it, learn the texture of her bare skin. "Work harder?" he teases. "I wasn't aware I'd been working at all."

Caroline rests a hand on his chest, her fingertips toying with one of the buttons at his throat, "That's a lie and you know it, Klaus. There's a pool going."

That takes him aback. He shifts, attempts to push away so he can ask what she means, but Caroline's hand is fisted in his collar, refusing to let him go far. "I beg your pardon?"

"Everyone's in on it," Caroline informs him breezily. "Come on, you've been checking me out since I started and we've been flirting for almost as long. I had Enzo put some money down for me. You're going to need to ask me out in front of someone tomorrow."

Klaus blinks down at her for a moment, "Ask you out?" he repeats.

Caroline doesn't seem put off by his confusion, "It's the day I bet on. We're both working the afternoon so they'll be witnesses. Make it good."

"What's in it for me?" Klaus wonders. Though he has a pretty good idea.

Caroline's smile widens, and she leans in, her lips almost brushing his ear when she speaks, "Well, a date for one. And I have every reason to believe it'll go well."

"Leading to a second?"

"Most likely. And I've already invited you over, Klaus. There are a whole lot of things that aren't sex that we can do." She presses a kiss to his jaw, lets her hands drag down his chest before she pulls away. "Now go. Clean. I'll get the chairs. Let's aim for the speediest close ever, okay?"

Klaus isn't going to argue with that.


End file.
